The
booklets
draw
from
our
blogs,
and
have
plenty
of
photos
illustrating
the
themes.
They
are
shared
within
our
research
areas
and
are
much
appreciated,
but
donors,
UN
officials
and
government
officers
also
seem
to
like
reading
them
too!
Our
booklets
are
central
to our
approach
to
‘impact’ and
also
provide
a
great
way
of
continuing
the
connection
with
our
study
areas.
Last
year
we
highlighted
three
themes
in
new
booklets (shared
online
in
January),
including
on small-scale
mechanisation, hidden
markets
and
value
chains and livestock
systems
in
dryland
areas.
Now
we
have
produced
two
more
booklets
to
add
to
the
series,
one
on
young
people
and
land
reform
and
the
other
on
small
towns
in
land
reform
areas.
Both
these
themes
have
been
central
to
our
recent
research.
Many
of
the
discussions
across
our
sites
have
focused
on
what
will
happen
to
the
next
generation
who
were
not
old
enough
to
get
land
after
2000.
Issues
of
generational
transition
and
succession
are
hot
topics
for
everyone,
and
we
have
highlighted
these
in several
blog
series over
the
years
(see here and here).
Young
people
of
course
are
carving
out
new
livelihoods
in
land
reform
areas,
often
not
replicating
the
styles
of
agriculture
employed
by
their
parents.
Instead
they
are
intensifying,
adding
value
and
connecting
to
off-farm
businesses
in
new
ways,
which
do
not
require
large
land
areas.
The
integration
of
rural
and
urban
areas
is
another
recurrent
theme
in
our
work,
highlighting
the
importance
of
‘small
towns‘
embedded
in
rural
areas,
as
highlighted
in
several
blog
series
(see here and here).
These
towns
are
places
where
rural
farmers
from
land
reform
areas
sell
their
produce,
but
also
where
they
invest
–
in
businesses
of
different
sorts,
as
well
as
in
real
estate.
With
surplus
production
coming
from
land
reform
areas
(particularly
A1
smallholder
sites),
agriculture
is
driving
local
economic
growth
and
the
rapid
expansion
of
small
towns.
We
thought
readers
might
like
to
have
a
look
at
these
new
booklets,
which
you
can
download
here
in
both
hi-res
and
low-res
formats
(for
when
Wi-Fi
connections
are
slow
and
phone
data
scarce,
links
below).
Next
week,
some
highlights
of
the
year,
before
a
short
break.
Post
published
in:
Agriculture